Salt Lake City's Mayor takes a stand for living wage contractors: Despite warnings that his action violates at least the spirit of state law, Mayor Rocky Anderson signed an administrative rule Monday giving preference to contractors who pay a living wage. "We ought to be able to decide if we want to impose that [businesses] pay decent, livable wages," Anderson told a crowd of about 60 people on City Hall's east steps. But Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said last week that Salt Lake City's measure runs counter to the intent of his 2001 law, which forbids Utah cities from requiring contractors to pay higher than the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour.